The Sexiest Bipolar Man Alive

TEARING UP THE PLAYBOOK 'I'm as proud of Phil in 'The Hangover' as I am of Pat Solatano,' his 'Silver Linings' character.
Amanda Friedman/Trunk Archive

By

Rachel Dodes

Updated Nov. 9, 2012 8:06 a.m. ET

Bradley Cooper's first role was a bit part on "Sex and the City" in which he made out with chronically single Carrie Bradshaw ( Sarah Jessica Parker) at a nightclub, and drove off in a vintage Porsche. Since then, he's often seen in variations of the hunky-man role, playing a flirtatious (and often shirtless) chef on the short-lived television series "Kitchen Confidential," a WASPy boyfriend in "Wedding Crashers" and, most famously, Phil Wenneck, the married high-school teacher who goes on mind-erasing benders with his buddies in the wildly successful "Hangover" franchise, now shooting its third installment.

In "Silver Linings Playbook," the latest film from David O. Russell ("The Fighter"), People magazine's reigning "Sexiest Man Alive" will show audiences another, more complicated side. In the film, hitting theaters Nov. 16, Mr. Cooper plays Pat Solatano, a bipolar man just released from a mental institution. He develops a volatile relationship with Tiffany, a young widow ( Jennifer Lawrence) who is grappling with psychological issues of her own.

In "Silver Linings Playbook," the latest film from David O. Russell ("The Fighter"), People magazine's reigning "Sexiest Man Alive," Bradley Cooper will show audiences another, more complicated side. Rachel Dodes has details on Lunch Break.

"I could feel that he was really ready to do something that had some weight to it," says Mr. Russell, who is working with the 37-year-old actor again on his next film, about Abscam, the late-1970s FBI sting operation. Edited from an interview.

David O. Russell told me you had "a vulnerability and a fierceness that hadn't been on full display in a movie yet." Would you agree that this role is a departure for you?

On film, no question about it. I have not had that opportunity to play this type of character. At first, I was nervous. I thought I couldn't do it. The thing is, I am from Philly and I know that world so well, from the way the house looked to the food they eat to the way they talk. And I am a huge Eagles fan. In retrospect, it was odd that I had an aversion to it.

Why would you question that you were right for this? Was it maybe too close to home?

I don't really know why. I just thought I am not right for the role. My hunch is that I read the script and thought, "This guy has to flip out and hit his mother." It kind of scared me. I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

You hadn't worked with David O. Russell before, but you've been talking to him for a while, right?

Yes, there was this movie called "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," and he wrote the script. I thought it was fantastic. Scarlett Johansson and I liked it so much we were willing to do it for scale. As things often happen in Hollywood, the movie couldn't come together. But David and I knew we wanted to work together after that.

In almost all of your early TV roles you appear shirtless—and in this film you are pretty much wearing a garbage bag the whole time, over sweatpants. Did you find that to be somewhat refreshing?

No, I really love to take my clothes off. I'm just kidding. I didn't think about it. I don't think I play these hunky roles just for the sake of it. In terms of "Kitchen Confidential," the shirtless scenes arose from the shenanigans of the situation—like when he jumps out of a woman's window in his underwear. That was the screwball comedy of it all. There's actually a scene in "Silver Linings" where I am completely naked in the attic, but it wound up being cut. I remember thinking, "Holy s—, I've never been actually naked on film." Maybe they'll include it in the DVD extras.

There are worse things you can be called than "Sexiest Man Alive" and GQ's "International Man of the Year," but did you ever fear that these types of accolades might limit your potential?

I don't think I realized how much that "sexy man" title follows you. Any interview I do, it's always brought up. Now that I'm doing "Silver Linings," I've heard people say, "This is him trying to show that he's a serious actor." But I'm as proud of Phil in "The Hangover" as I am of Pat Solatano. This role was very demanding, but I don't feel like I'm taking it more seriously than anything else I've done. So there has never been a conscious decision to try to do more serious roles.

Last year, you starred opposite Robert De Niro in "Limitless," which was your first non-ensemble film, and also not a comedy.

No, it wasn't. I starred in a movie called "The Midnight Meat Train" [2008]. I guess you never saw that one.

I can't say I have.

[Laughs.] It opened in a hundred one-dollar theaters. But I'm proud of that movie. It's a great art-house horror flick. We always had an issue with the title. But that was the first opportunity I had to be at the center of a movie, and I loved it. In "Silver Linings," when I am chasing Tiffany out of the diner, it's Halloween night, and there's a movie theater in the background and guess what's playing?

Let me guess. "The Midnight Meat Train"?

Yes. You can see it on the marquee. It was actually playing! No, just kidding. David thought it would be funny.

You and your father used to go to Eagles games together, right? So this must have been kind of a personal thing.

Yeah, in fact, the week before he died [in 2011], we went to a playoff game together. It was really the last thing he did before he died. I have a picture of us there that I am looking at right now. So the film was a very personal thing for me, as it was for everybody. For David O. Russell, the issues brought up in this film he's had to deal with in his family, and the same goes for Robert De Niro. There's a lot of meat there. A lot of Midnight Meat. Which is all you ever want, right?

What was the hardest scene to shoot? Hitting your mother [played by Jacki Weaver]?

Oh, that was easy. No, that was a tough scene. Every day was tough, in a good way, too. Difficult is very gratifying.

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